ESPN’s Bill Connelly published his annual SEC football preview on Wednesday.
As part of the wide-ranging statistical analysis, Connelly put all 16 SEC teams into tiers ahead of the 2026 season. His list included a group of 5 teams he views as “contenders” entering the year: Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama.
All 5 of those teams are inside the top 11 of his preseason SP+ rankings.
Georgia has won back-to-back SEC Championships and returns starting quarterback Gunner Stockton for the 2026 season. Texas also returns its starting quarterback in Arch Manning and added a star-studded transfer portal class this offseason.
On prediction markets like Kalshi, Georgia and Texas are the leaders in SEC Championship odds at this stage in the offseason:
Of the teams in Connelly’s top tier, only Texas and LSU didn’t make the College Football Playoff last season. LSU signed the nation’s No. 1 transfer portal class this offseason and is expected to contend for a CFP berth in Year 1 of the Lane Kiffin era.
Alabama reached the SEC Championship Game last season, but lost to Georgia. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs have combined to win the SEC Championship in 11 of the past 12 seasons (with LSU in 2019 being the only exception).
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
